Back like a vertebrae

Been a while since we talked last. Allow me to bring you up to speed. In May is 2013 I was asked for my compliance data from my CPAP Machine. I swelled up my chest and called in and told them that I was an owner operator and did not have to wear that infernal device anymore. I was wrong. At this point I was picking up a load in Ohio bound for Idonotrememberville but had to pass it off and was issued a DOT shutdown order until my data was in compliance. In non trucker terms that means I had to use my CPAP for three nights in a row then send in my data card to be read and then have my shutdown lifted. No problem. Three days off at a small Pilot in Eaton Ohio. I slept three nights while using my machine for at least 4 hours per night and sent off my data. Only two nights registered. Shit. Because it was the last night that was missing I had to start all over again. Three more nights in Eaton Ohio. I sent off my data again. One of my three nights was too short on the machine. Fuck. Three more nights in HELL Ohio. By this time it will be the weekend and my data will not be read before Monday so add a night. All the time I am calling home and discussing my options with my business manager AKA the wife. We decided that as soon as I was able to legally drive that I would drive home and quit OTR trucking. So 12 days from the start of this ordeal I was driving home. I parked my truck at the drop yard and told them to come and get it. Not the most classy move but they wanted me to drive it to Green Bay to drop the truck off and then take a bus back to Knoxville with all my stuff. NOT HAPPENING!

I have a brother in law who has worked for the same company (Holston Gases) for almost 15 years and he told me that they were looking to add a driver. I applied and with his recommendation was hired for the job. It was a night time delivery job dropping off cylinders of gases to the distribution locations. Glamorous right? Nope. But it was a job that had me driving and home every day. Fast forward a few months and I was offered a transfer from night cylinder delivery to day carbon dioxide bulk delivery to eateries and machine shops. SWEET!

Now I am home every night. I get to sleep in the same bed as my honey and I have steady income that is not dependent on my fuel economy. Life is good again. I still get annoyed from time to time but that is a story for another post.

Foggy windows and Burning smells

      So today I was headed south on I 55 in Mississippi. I was just outside of Jackson and I hit traffic. Apparently a white SUV decided it would be funny to rear end the center divider! My dilema begins in the backup caused my dumbass Jr as he shall be known.
      RAIN! Sheets of rain. All the way from Illinois to Louisiana. That makes for some crazy humidity. As many of you know, windows love to fog up in humid situations. Most of you know that the A/C unit is a perfect remedy for this. It has a built in dehumidifier and removes fog like a boss. I had mine turned on a low setting and was cruising along in 1st gear at a blistering 2 miles per hour when my truck started squealing. I thought at first it could be the hooptie next to me so I ignored it. I got a few car lengths up and heard it again. Checking my mirror for said hooptie, it was not there. The squealing was me! Now I have had a belt melt from a seized tensioner pulley so I am familiar with this aroma. What I smelled next was only slightly similar in bouquet. Suddenly and without hesitation, all of my windows fog completely over from the inside. I crack both side windows and turn the blower up all the way. No help but intensified smell. I asked the driver next to me if he thought I was on fire. NOPE! We agreed that it smells and sounded like I lost the belt on the A/C unit. This would make sense and fit the symptoms.
      I pass dumbass Jr and the two cops with him. Now I am cruising at freeway speeds with half fogged windows just trying to make it to the Flying J at exit 47 on I 20 from I 55. I made it. Circling the lot twice to find an easy spot to back into was fun. It was equally difficult to back in with fogged windows. I got it done and as usual had 0 GOALs. Also had 0 hit trucks. Pop my hood open and what did I see? You guessed it! Both belts still intact and everything moving properly!!! WTF? Now I am wondering if I totally lost the condenser unit or what. Any diesel mechanics out there throw me on opinion. Or better yet bring me a new part and a tool kit. You know where I am. Today at least.

See you down the road.

REALLY??!!

This is a Central Refrigerated Service truck. It is a cold storage transport. The trailer is relatively new and the truck is also. Apparently so is the driver. I was sitting here in my sleeper having lunch. This was my view. I see this truck slowly creeping his way into the wet grass. I was curious as to why this was happening. Was he avoiding another truck? Was he having to turn wide to avoid an obstacle? The answer to both of these questions is the same. NO! He simply drove his truck into the soft earth. Then he proceeded to spin his drive tires in reverse and forward gears. Nice job sir. Very well played. Cost your company about a grand in recovery fees and add a preventable accident to your record all in one motion. GENIUS! You, sir are a shining example of idiocy at its highest level.

Truck stop vegetarian

That is almost a contradiction in itself I know. But it is what I am doing now. My wife and I made the decision about a month ago and unfortunately I do not do much half assed. I jumped in with both feet and quit meat (excluding fish) cold turkey. No pun intended. Here is the issue I am faced with. Truck stops are not known for their veggie fare. Almost all of them have a smattering of deep fried this or that. All of it is usually meat based. Burritos, corn dogs, chicken wings, pork egg rolls and other random goodies. Then there is the cold area. Sandwiches of every variety including the occasional tuna salad or pimento cheese. There are salads but they almost all contain bacon or ham.

Most of the bigger truck stops have a restaurant inside. Some have a Denny's and others have Arby's or McDonald's or other fast food places. For the most part though it is hard to find a good vegetarian menu in these places. I like to stop at the operating centers that my company owns and eat and sleep there. They have free showers and laundry and most of them have a cafeteria inside. I have yet to find one that refuses to make me a breakfast item for dinner. Tonight I had an awesome vegetable quesidilla at the Carlisle PA operating center. There was tomato, onion, green pepper, broccoli and cheese. It was topped with sour cream and salsa. OMG was it delicious. I may make it after all.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

SPACE PEOPLE!!!

No I do not mean among the stars. I mean area around my big ass truck. Time for a little trucker-educatin'. My truck, traveling at 55 mph will require about 450 feet to come to a complete stop when fully loaded. That includes the driver reaction time and vehicle stopping distance all in one. When traveling down a road like a US highway with random stop lights, the speeds are usually comparable to those on the freeways. Add in traffic lights and 40 ton trucks and.... You see where this is going. Then there is the consideration I make to stay in 5th or 6th gear and creep up to the red light at 20 mph or so in hopes it will turn green and I will not have to cycle through all 13 speeds again. These two things are why there is a large gap in between my truck and the vehicle directly in front of me. IT IS NOT A GAP THAT NEEDS TO BE FILLED WITH YOUR SWERVING CAR! I do not leave it there so you can gain a 20 foot advantage on the "idiot" you just passed. If I am in the process of trying to fully stop and you pull into the gap, chances are another idiot will think that was a great move and join you. Between the two morons and physics, my stopping distance has just been reduced by 40 feet. Consequently, your vehicle may just be shrunk by a few feet as well.

On another note. I love it when kids do the "pull the horn" motion to me. It is a throwback to when I was a kid. I did it too. Biggest difference is I did not flip off the trucks who refused to blare the air horn for me. Sometimes I will give a pull on the cord. Most of the time I will not. It is not random either. There are unwritten guidelines for honking. NEVER in a neighborhood. Never on a crowded city street, in stop and go traffic, or while passing a police officer. Sometimes on country roads and the uncrowded freeway. ALWAYS when it is a girl who is topless. ( not seen that yet ) Have some decency and know where you are when commanding a driver to honk.

PS: I hate changing lanes.

Freight Delivery Engineer?

My former blog did not seen fitting anymore as I am no longer a Chauffeur. I am now a Freight Delivery Engineer. One of those self righteous titles we give our jobs to make us feel great about it. Screw it! I am a truck driver. I recently swapped the limo for a Peterbilt and I feel awesome about that decision. I am seeing more than just Dallas traffic and I love it. Granted, I moved to Knoxville TN in 2009 but still, National views beat the hell out of the same old local traffic signals.

I went to school for this. I studied and learned just like any other student. Because I went into a high demand job, the state of Tennessee paid the bill for the Tennessee Truck Driving School. The class was small enough that I got great one on one time. From school I was hired by Schneider National. I started in my class there with 6 people and I was the only graduate. Not to be bragging at all. After I completed my minimum 6 months of driving as a company driver I looked into buying my own truck. These are expensive machines and my credit is not so good. The people at Schneider Financial hooked me up with a 1 year lease on a great 2007 Peterbilt 387 and I am happy with it.

I was on unemployment when I started school. I see that there is an unemployment rate in the high single digits right now and that is ridiculous. There is an estimated 300,000 CDL driver shortfall that is going to occur by 2015 say the experts. Not to mention it is a sweet job. I get to drive around the country and meet the greatest working people on Earth. Truckers. We are a unique breed. We love to drive. We have awesome sense of direction. Nerves of steel. Bladders made of ever expanding materials.(unless you are me)
Wardrobes straight off the Walmart shelves and a diet plan that consists of some of the best gas station cuisine imaginable.

I am still learning new and exciting things every day. I have figured out a few things I like and hate. I like light loads. 20,000 to 30,000 is just right. My truck handles beautifully and I get good mileage. (7-8 MPG) There is nothing quite as nice as a Pilot/Flying J shower after a crazy long drive. I hate mountains and hybrids.

More to come. Thanks for your time and if you see me out there just flash me some skin and we will all be good.